The 1.8-lb. mutt, possibly a mix of teacup Chihuahua and Chinese crested, won the title at the famed contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair last year.

"Say a prayer today 4 my YODA...rest in peace 3-10-12," her owner, Terry Schumacher, wrote in an e-mail obtained by California's Hanford Sentinel. "She passed away last night in her sleep. I will miss her funny little ways! But comforted knowing she will be joining my Mom and Dad, who loved her so much! Her memories will live on forever!!!"

Yoda, an improbable creature, won the title of World's Ugliest Dog on her first try. "I've had a lot of friends over the years ask me to enter her into the contest," Schumacher told PEOPLE last year. "But she's not ugly – she's cute!"